Thursday, 27 June 2013

Action needed to address the old A O'Smith site in Bray which has become a magnet for Criminal Activity

Wicklow Sinn Féin Councillor John Brady has called for immediateaction to be taken to address the dangers posed by the derelict A O'Smith building on the Boghall Road in Bray.A O'Smith once housed over 140 employees before its closure in 2005,the building has now fallen into a state of dereliction and is used asa drug den and a haven for anti-social behaviour and criminalbehaviour.

The Sinn Féin Councillor said “The A O'Smith building which at itspeak employed up to 200 people, was one of the best maintainedbusinesses in Bray. Unfortunately since it closed in 2005 it has beenallowed to fall into a state of dereliction which is not only an eyesore but it is also the scene of constant criminal activities. I havespoken to firefighters who were recently called to the site to dealwith a fire and they have stated the inside of the building is strewnwith syringes. I have also spoken to other members of the communitywho regularly witness large groups of people entering the premises fordrug parties. I also believe a number of people are living andsleeping in the dangerous building. Action is needed immediately tosecure the site and clean it up but most importantly to get positiveplans in place for the future of the site".

"The site is owned by 2 Galway business men, however the IDA have a 99year lien on the site. A number of years ago at the height of theproperty boom the IDA did formulate a price for the lien they hold,however it was deemed too high at the time by the businessmen andunfortunately the site has lain derelict since. I have constantly beenraising this issue with the council and in November 2007 it wasentered on the Derelict Sites Register. However after some minor worksto secure the building it was removed from the register in 2008. Onceentered on the register the owners must pay an annual levy to thelocal authority. This levy amounts to 3% of the market value of theland concerned".

Cllr Brady continued “There is a responsibility on the owners of the AO'Smith site to take action to address this eyesore which is a bigpublic safety concern; the owners can’t abdicate theirresponsibilities. There is also a big responsibility however on BrayTown Council and the IDA. I am calling on the council to take the leadon this serious issue to try get action on the ground, the councilmust immediately enter the site on the Derelict Sites Register againas a starting point. They must also organise a trilateral meetingbetween all interested parties to try put in place plans for theimmediate future of the site. The council must use all its powers toaddress the issue and all options need to be explored, there arespecific regulations about dangerous structures. The local authoritycan direct that work, including the demolition of the structure andthe clearing of the site be carried out immediately if it considers itnecessary".

Cllr Brady concluded "I believe at this point in time all options mustbe on the table so as the safety of the community of Ballywaltrim andBray is protected and the eyesore that is theA O'Smith site is dealt with. We have already lost one member of thecommunity who unfortunately died on site in 2010 and we don't want anymore". Ends